I'm 51 and have been on PB since March 2010, with a couple of months where I was only doing it 80%, now it's more like 90%. Ideally I wanted to lose 20 lbs to be back to my "fighting weight." I lost 6 lbs in the first 3 months, then completely stopped losing for the next 4 months. Frustration caused me to slack off in a "why bother?" mindset so I started eating more carbs. That caused me to regain 3 of the 6 lbs I lost. In November I recommitted to a ~95% adherence to PB, resulting in a loss of 1.5 lbs in the month of November. As you can see, losing weight on PB has been very slow and difficult for me in spite of exercise and mostly-adhering to the plan. In my case it may be a hormone imbalance causing me to hold on to this last 15 lbs I need to lose. I am planning to get a full hormone panel done at the naturopath's next week. A couple months ago a thyroid test showed TSH of 2.7 which my doctor said was "normal" so this time I'll be testing estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, and cortisol.

12-06-2010, 01:20 PM

Dragonfly

Out of curiosity, I wonder how much of dropping body fat (at this age) has to do with expectations? I mean, if our expectations are out of alignment with our body's natural rhythms, we will create stress for ourselves, which will up our cortisol levels and make it even harder to lose the fat. I've had to re-align my expectations to my current activity level and age and I think it has helped me have a more enjoyable experience going Primal. Read more in my journal...

I'm only on week 5 of being fully Primal, and I don't have much body fat to lose--so I [B]expect[/B] it will take some time. I notice that mine is dropping off at approx. a pound a week (guessing--I don't weigh myself!)--which is a very healthy rate and allows my excess skin to reabsorb. I eat 50 ~ 70 gms of carbs a day and get 50-70% of my calories from fat. Probably 98%/2% Primal. I eat raw dairy, but hardly any fruit/nuts.

What I've noticed is that my focus is to keep my stress levels [B]low[/B] and enjoy my food. I am also re-training myself to eat [I]only[/I] when I am hungry. Funny how programmed I have been to eat every 3 hours (when I was still eating grains)--or at a certain time of day!

Doing the PB Fitness routine has been a real support. Speaking as a former personal trainer, it is a really smart workout for women and my strength gains have been consistent-- I get really motivated from seeing my progress each time. Again, my [B]expectation[/B] was to see results between 4-6 weeks (reasonable for most people) from starting the program and indeed I am now--but I certainly wasn't at 3 weeks!

12-06-2010, 02:07 PM

janagram

Hey, canarygirl, adrianag, and all of ya, and Dragonfly, you are right about expectations. I keep thinking....I'm eating so much better than before, where's the evidence? Well, some of my evidence is ...less finger pain...feeling good....not gaining....and so forth. Oh, yeah, and enjoying food like crazy!
Ok, I would love to have a pc of toast. But other than that, I don't miss grains.

12-06-2010, 03:54 PM

it1958

Here's my "gal over 50" intro: I'm 52. I started my "fitness" journey when I was 44, on Atkin's. I lost about 30 lbs. I began serious weight training and was constantly asked if i would consider competing. The lowest my body fat was was 18%. I still wanted those "last 10 lbs" off, tho, so I continued to look for new ideas!

For reasons un-remembered now, two years ago, I went vegetarian. It was simply crazy. to go from eating 125-150g of protein/day to virtually none was a shock to my system. But the whole concept, seems to me, was for HEALTH. Well, it drove me nuts to lose all my hard-earned muscle!!! That lasted for 3 months, when all the raw-eating tore my belly up. I tried various other programs, never recovered my lost muscle and constantly battled hunger.

Dear online friends introduced me just over a year ago to high fat, low carb eating. When they told me i wouldnt be hungry any more, i had to check it out. When I learned that cutting the carbs out of my diet could also heal me of my rosacea, i jumped on board.

So, like someone previously posted, i do not follow this way of eating for weight loss but for overall health. I've eaten more off plan in the past three months, tho, and have suffered terribly for it. i gained 15 lbs and my rosacea came back with a vengeance!!! But just being back on plan for one week has rewarded me with great physical improvement! my face is so much better as are my hands (had been very dry!!). in three days, i lost 5 lbs.

but for me, the health benefits are outweighing every thing else: i now know my rosacea is caused by sugar. i had been DXd with "overactive bladder" which is now healed. I used to need to wear sunglasses every time i went outside: i've worn them perhaps three times this whole year. I have many fillings and crowns because of my poor diet. Two molars broke a year ago and a filling fell out. Because my diet has been more good than bad this year, these teeth do not bother me. My teeth always feel slickery clean! I was DXd with osteoarthritis in my right hip. When I'm eating right, I rarely notice it.

So while weight loss will be a great benefit (and seeing some muscle tone once more!!! woot!), for me becoming more healthy and understanding the nasty foods in today's society has been the biggest boon for me!

Karen, 52 and loving it!

12-06-2010, 11:21 PM

janagram

Hi, Karen! I hope that we "over 50" gals can begin to share our goals and successes. Also, I was a vegetarian for ...well 27 yrs. Not good. I can sympathize, but at least someone pushed you toward good sense. I damaged my body and health, but it took forever for me to get it. I loooove this way of eating.

12-07-2010, 12:28 PM

Paleobird

I am 48 and already past "the change of life" so I guess I count.

My journal is called "Cancer Survivor Climbs Kilimangaro or Grok Goes Back to Africa". Stop by sometime.

yup it was awesome! y'see, I justa wanna know we can do this at this point in life! young folks can lose weight with jumping jacks and such....but does this path work when you're starting late? I realllllly wanna know! (haven't lost any poundage.....yet)

12-10-2010, 03:25 PM

Analog6

Janagram, I have joined today and started one. I have went low carb in 2005 but then fell off the wagon (full sotry in Journal).

I am 57 and in menopause.

12-10-2010, 03:51 PM

marcadav

Jan, I did it. I'm over 50, hypothyroid, perimenopausal, have cerebral palsy and bone on bone osteoarthritis in my knee.